'The Electric Company' Is Set to Zap A New Generation

HEY, YOU GUYS! The Electric Company is coming back to PBS. The Electric Company was the hippest program on television for the kids of the seventies - and shockingly, they didn’t get that it was educational.

The Electric Company had the top stars of the day doing skits and spoofs and songs. Bill Cosby, Morgan Freeman and Rita Moreno were all regulars.

Will the Wii kids go near retro? Nope. This isn’t a rehashed version, it’s a whole new deal. 25% of U.S. 4th graders are below reading level for their age, so the need is there. The new version "is less shticky and more narrative" the producers say. "It follows four kids with an unusual superpower: they can 'throw' letters and words anywhere, like a paintball."